MONTCLAIR, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University led 6-0 in the third inning of game two but couldn't maintain it as Montclair State University rallied for a 12-8 win over the Gothic Knights in a New Jersey Athletic Conference softball doubleheader on April 13 at the MSU Softball Stadium. Montclair won the opener, 14-0 in five innings.
 
Montclair State (16-10, 2-6 NJAC) snapped a six-game losing streak as it scored 26 runs with 29 hits in the two games. The Gothic Knights fell below .500 (11-13, 0-8 NJAC, lost 8). The Knights committed 12 errors in the two games; only 12 of the 26 runs were earned.
 
Game 1: Montclair State University 14, New Jersey City University 0 (5 innings)
MSU pitcher Sam Keating tossed a five-inning two-hit shutout as the Red Hawks prevailed, 14-0. She struck out four without issuing a walk over 53 pitches.
 
Catcher Tina Ciacciarelli drove in five runs, batting 3-for-4 while shortstop Victoria Gehring was 3-for-3 with two runs and one RBI in the leadoff spot.
 
Right fielder Ali Walek was 2-for-2 with two runs and two RBIs and second baseman Noel Hodgins scored twice, going 2-for-3. Third baseman Alana Luna scored three times (1-for-3). First baseman Samantha DiClementi had two hits (2-for-3, 1 RBI). Designated player Lia Stamile scored twice.
 
Montclair scored six runs in the first inning and seven more in the third to double the lead to 14-0. NJCU committed six errors in the game; seven of the runs were earned.
 
Game 2: Montclair State University 12, New Jersey City University 8
NJCU scored once in the first, three in the second and two more in the third for a 6-0 lead. But Montclair tied it with six in the bottom of the third, tallied two in the fourth and plated three more in the sixth when the Red Hawks scored for the fourth straight inning.
 
Freshman shortstop Hannah Gavin (Bordentown, N.J./Bordentown) notched three RBIs for NJCU, batting 2-for-3 while freshman right-handed pitcher Christina Mezey (Jersey City, N.J./Saint Dominic Academy) batted 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. NJCU had 12 hits in the loss. She suffered the loss (5-7), striking out two against one walk with five earned runs against.
 
Sophomore Juliana Squeo (Carlstadt, N.J./Becton Regional) started in center fielder, and she chalked up two RBIs and scored twice with a triple in a 2-for-4 showing. Junior left fielder Jazz Randall (Parsippany, N.J./West Orange) had two RBIs, batting 2-for-5. Senior righty Jayla Lee Vega (Hoboken, N.J./Hoboken), the starter in game one, played third baseman in game two and scored twice.
 
Hodgins finished the doubleheader batting a combined 6-for-7 as she finished 4-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. Walek had four hits and five RBIs on the day, batting 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs.  DiClementi, who also had four hits and four RBIs in the twinbill, was 3-for-3 with three RBIs (one run).
 
Also for MSU, Luna scored twice (2-for-2), center fielder Brooke Powers had two RBIs (1-for-3, one run) and left fielder/designated player Lauren Booth scored twice.
 
Keating claimed the win (7-4) in relief. She pitched five innings (four runs, nine hits, three strikeouts, three walks) as the second of three MSU pitchers.
 
#KnightNotes:

• All-Time Series with Montclair State: 37th and 38th meetings. MSU leads the all-time series, 36-2.

 
What's Next?:
On Thursday, April 14 (4:30 p.m.) NJCU is back on the field against the College of Staten Island in a non-conference doubleheader in Staten Island, N.Y.